Inquisitor's Promise (Act Two, Chapter Two)

Aeneas has to keep his promises. His father's mission will be completed. And while he's at it, he will become Galatea's lord and Inquisitor. But love and politics are an explosive combination.

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Chapter Two: Battle for Nepoli

“What’s your name, mercenary?”

“Shaka, sir. Shaka de Boer.”

“De Boer. I’m guessing you’re from the Draka, in the southern Afrique region.”

“Yes, sir.”

There was an awkward silence between Aeneas and the man in front of him. Shaka was a well-built man with blond hair and somewhat dark skin, a rare combination of features. The man held his weapon of choice: a relatively large gun with the scope to match, a sniper rifle. The man’s battle armor was sleeker than Aeneas’; made sense given that he was not a frontline fighter. As for his facial features, they seemed to show that he and Aeneas were of a similar age, perhaps even the same.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” Aeneas asked.

“No, sir.”

“Okay, then,” Aeneas said nonchalantly. “Carry on.”

Aeneas was frustrated by his interlocutor’s laconic demeanor, but he didn’t show it. After all, he didn’t hire Shaka for his friendliness. Shaka was hired because the man was said to be a great sniper. Or rather a great pathfinder as the warriors of the Kraal-Cities of Draka liked to call themselves.

The Inquisitor was standing atop the large flagship of his attack fleet. When he had heard of the pirate attacks on Nepoli, he did not hesitate to launch a counterattack on these maritime brigands. However, he needed additional troops to bolster the Prochytan Militia. To that end, he had hired several mercenary companies. These were mostly orcs of the Mediterranean Marshes, but also the wandering pathfinder who had just frustrated the Inquisitor’s attempt at small talk.

Aeneas also bolstered his troop numbers with the help of Lavinia who called on her Pacifican swarmlings, large insectoid creatures of the sea; these creatures fought with claws rather than swords, spiny needles rather than gunpowder. Though not great soldiers individually, they could easily overwhelm the enemy with numbers.

Lavinia was the one who had suggested this idea. But Aeneas was reluctant because he knew that it would not be received well by the Nepolians. The painful story of Patriarch Ulysses once again reared its ugly head.

Another reason why Aeneas was reticent to use swarmlings was because it would put Lavinia in danger. Lavinia’s safety, more than popular opinion, was what set Aeneas against the idea in the first place.

But in the end, Aeneas had no choice if he was to rid Nepoli of these pirates. He had to make use of these swarm creatures.

At the moment, Lavinia and her Pacifican swarmlings were underwater. It was strange for Aeneas to think that the girl he had known for so long could actually breathe underwater.

The Prochytan Fleet was closing upon the pirate ships. Unlike their brigand counterparts, the Prochytans were actually well organized.

“They don’t seem to be all that alarmed at our presence,” Aeneas commented.

“It makes sense, they’ve just driven off the Nepolian Fleet. They’re probably drunk or something,” Lavinia said. Her voice was heard over Aeneas’ nav-comm, the tool that once belonged to his father Anchises.

“This is our opportunity. Get ready, everyone!” Aeneas commanded. The Inquisitor held to his testudo shield, ready to act. His shield was on turret mode, ready to be fired.

Lavinia started the attack off as various swarmlings appeared from underwater. The crew of the pirate ships were alarmed at the attack from the sea. A fight ensued between the swarmlings and the pirates. The former with claws and spiny needles, the latter with swords and guns.

Meanwhile, the Prochytan ships moved forward towards the pirate ships. As Aeneas’ ships got closer, he was able to get a good look at the battle between swarmlings and pirates:

Though the pirates were scruffy and unkempt, those without context would be forgiven for thinking that they were the good guys. After all, they were fighting bugs from the deep.

So far, it had been an even battle.

Then, Lavinia jumped out of the water and into the largest pirate ship in the fleet; it was the flagship of the brigands. The deep one girl had a tail where her lower body was, a quirk of her genetic stock. Her weapon of choice: a knife, the very same weapon that her ancestress Simona Aquilana once carried.

The pirates attempted to attack Lavinia, but they were stopped by her swarmlings. Those who were able to bypass the swarmlings attacked Lavinia, but the deep one girl was able to dodge their attacks.

Meanwhile, Aeneas had directed the Prochytan ships to launch their attacks. Some of them launched missiles at the ships that were not attacked by the swarmlings. There were also sharpshooters, including Shaka, who took potshots from afar.

As a matter of fact, Shaka had been picking off the pirates who were barking orders, sowing chaos in the enemy ranks.

As Aeneas’ ship was getting closer to the flagship of the pirates, Lavinia continued to fight said pirates. Her body had dried enough that her tail had transformed back to a pair of legs. As she was fighting, Lavinia continued to deftly dodge the pirate attacks. Though she had neither the strength nor the reach of the pirates, she made up for it through her agility.

The pirates had two choices: go for the swarmlings in which case they would be worn down by their numbers or go for Lavinia directly in which case the girl would simply dodge their attacks while waiting for her swarmlings to attack them from behind.

It was not an ideal situation for the pirates. Nonetheless, they looked to be winning the battle against the swarm creatures through sheer numbers, beating the swarmlings at their own game. At least on the flagship.

Back in Aeneas’ ship, the Inquisitor opened fire at the pirates with the use of his testudo turret. He was having much success thanks to the good angle that his ship had given him. It also helped that the pirates were busy dealing with the swarmlings boarding their ship.

As Aeneas scanned the battlefield around him, he could see that his side had the advantage. He had to push on.

“Prepare for boarding!” Aeneas commanded.

As Aeneas’ ship were closing in on the pirate flagship, Prochytan soldiers waited for their opportunity. Metallic beams launched out of Aeneas’ ship and smashed into the pirate ship, creating bridges between the two flagships.

Prochytan soldiers then flooded into the pirate ship. This was a timely attack as Lavinia began to feel exhausted and her swarmlings had been felled in sufficient numbers that the pirates started to overwhelm her.

Finally, a pirate landed a hit on Lavinia. The sword struck Lavinia’s arm; the brigand hit hard enough that the deep one girl was sent to the floor. With the pirate ready to land the killing blow, Lavinia knew that this was it for her.

But Aeneas arrived just in time and bashed the pirate from behind with his shield.

Lavinia looked up and saw Aeneas reaching out his hand to help her up. The girl eagerly took that hand.

By this time, the battle was all but won. All that was left was the cleanup.

“How are you holding up, Vinia?” Aeneas asked his cousin.

“I’m fine,” Lavinia answered. “Thanks for the rescue.”

Acknowledging Lavinia, Aeneas smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Lavinia’s heart fluttered in response, though Aeneas was not aware of it.

“You did great out there, Vinia,” Aeneas complimented. “The way you move, it was like watching a work of art. Especially how you work in tandem with your swarmlings in thinning the enemy ranks.”

“Eh heh, you’re such a nerd, Aeneas,” Lavinia teased. “But thanks. I was the one who taught you how to dance, remember?”

With the pirate fleet defeated, Aeneas and his group went to Nepoli City with the pirates they had captured as prisoners in tow. These pirates were to be transferred to the Nepolian authorities where they would most likely be spending time in the republic’s prisons.

In Nepoli, Aeneas was able to gain an audience with the President of Nepoli and the entire Senate. But it was not a completely happy occurrence for everyone.

“Can you believe that fat jerk?” Lavinia said, seething in anger. She was referring to the President of Nepoli.

“Vinia, calm down,” Aeneas pleaded.

At this point, the two of them were outside of Nepoli’s Senate Building. The building was located close to the edge of the Nepoli hive city and overlooked Lake Tyrion. From here, Aeneas could see the island of Prochyta and Castle Aquila jutting out of the blue water. It was a breathtaking sight, but both Aeneas and Lavinia had seen it many times before.

“No, Aeneas!” the Pacifican girl snapped. “I’ve risked my life for them, and they won’t even acknowledge it because I’m a deep one.”

Aeneas did not know what to say. In all honesty, he completely agreed with his cousin. The situation was an outrage. But there was nothing to be accomplished by being angry about it.

“Don’t you see, Aeneas?” Lavinia said, giving Aeneas a determined look. “This was the exact same mentality that led to the exile of Patriarch Ulysses.”

Once more, Aeneas was at a loss for words. It made sense that Lavinia would bring up the founder of the Pacifica Duchy. By the time of Ulysses, the genetic stock of House Aquilanus had been heavily tilted towards a combination of deep one and merfolk, both underwater races. By that time, the Nepolians had had enough of it and set in motion the events that led to the split of House Aquilanus into two branches.

“This is why we need to reunite House Aquilanus,” Lavinia declared.

Aeneas looked at Lavinia with pity in his eyes. He was sure that she was ignorant of what had happened with Galatea.

“Vinia, listen…”

“I’m not stupid, Aeneas,” Lavinia interrupted. “I’ve heard the rumors, and I saw your ring. You’re not the type to adorn yourself with jewelry.”

Instinctively, Aeneas’ right hand reached for the ring on his left. “No way,” Aeneas muttered. He could not believe that his cousin could also deduce so much from so little.

Perhaps it wasn’t so little after all.

Lavinia shook her head in disappointment. “The Knights are the worst faction you could ever align yourself with.”

“Do you think politics entered into my decision on that?” Aeneas asked rhetorically.

“Obviously not,” Lavinia answered flatly.

“Look,” Aeneas said assertively. “It doesn’t matter what you think of Lady Galatea or San Felipe…”

“And that’s where you’re wrong, Aeneas,” Lavinia shot back. “Because I don’t give up.”

Aeneas was frustrated at Lavinia’s interruption, but he didn’t show it. In fact, he remained silent, waiting to hear what else Lavinia had to say.

The silence paid off as Lavinia seemed to have calmed down somewhat. The Pacifican girl was now deep in thought.

“Aeneas, all I know is this,” Lavinia began to explain. “We fight for the downtrodden, the forgotten. That has been the way of House Aquilanus. That is, until Patriarch Ulysses was exiled from Nepoli. But the Simona branch, the descendants of Ulysses, we keep that ideal. The Imperialists of Texarkana wish to conquer the world to bring back some Golden Age which may not have existed at all. The Corporatists of the Zaibatsu want to extract as much wealth as they can.  The Venetian Spacers simply want to get away from Earth by exploring space, the electrosphere. The Knights are the most pitiful of us all since they want to keep things as they are, maintain the social order, as they say. But we fight for the Proletarians, those who had been forgotten by the surface world. As an Inquisitor, surely you see the calling of our mission. The Church had always aimed to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted.”

“Wow, Vinia,” Aeneas said in awe. “That was very insightful of you.”

“Glad you think so,” Lavinia said sheepishly, her gestures betrayed embarrassment. “That was actually papa’s words.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Aeneas said in disappointment.

“But I stand by them,” Lavinia said earnestly.

And Aeneas was dumbfounded. “Vinia, I don’t know what to say.”

Lavinia smiled, she took both of Aeneas’ hands and held them each in hers. “You can say, will you marry me.”

Aeneas looked away. He would be lying if he was to say that he was not tempted. Desperately, he searched for a way to get out of this situation. Thankfully, that opportunity had presented itself.

“Excuse me,” a voice rang out, interrupting Aeneas and Lavinia. It was Shaka’s.

“Shaka?” Aeneas asked as he separated his hands from Lavinia’s. He was absolutely glad to see the pathfinder, or anyone else in all honesty.

For Lavinia, it was quite the opposite feeling.

“Am I interrupting anything?” Shaka asked.

“Not at all,” Aeneas answered. “I’m surprised you’re still in the area. Did I forget to pay you?”

“No, sir,” Shaka said. “I wish to join you in your mission to unite the Holy League.”

Aeneas was flabbergasted; he never told anyone about his father’s mission except for…

“Vinia!” Aeneas cried indignantly.

“I didn’t tell him, I swear,” Lavinia said defensively.

“I heard the rumors,” Shaka stated.

Aeneas gave Lavinia a dirty look in response. “Who did you tell, Vinia?”

“Well…,” Lavinia said as she looked away, her face betrayed a look of embarrassment. “I told a Castle Guard, some servants, and I believe I told someone in the Prochytan Militia.”

Aeneas shook his head in disgust, his hands were covering his face.

“In my defense,” Lavinia said. “You never said that it was a secret.”

“Sir,” Shaka spoke up, a reminder of the offer that the pathfinder had made.

Aeneas nodded to acknowledge the mercenary. It was not a difficult decision at all. “Welcome to the team, Shaka. I’m glad to have a someone of your caliber in my army.”

“Thank you, sir,” Shaka said plainly.

The two men then shook hands.

“See, it’s a good thing I told people about your mission,” Lavinia said as she puffed herself up proudly. “You should be thanking me, Aeneas.”

Aeneas shook his head in disbelief, Lavinia had always been hard to shame. At least things in Nepoli had been taken care of. Next stop for the Inquisitor, Roma.

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